France winger Ousmane Dembélé turned in a stunning performance to lead Les Bleus to a 3-1 lead over Norway at the end of the first half, having scored a hat-trick in just 30 minutes in the match currently under way between the two sides in Boston in the final round of group-stage fixtures at the World Cup. The feat takes his tournament tally to 4 goals, level with teammate Kylian Mbappé.
It is now beyond doubt that Ousmane Dembélé has fully hit his stride at this World Cup. After a subdued display in the opening match against Senegal that drew some criticism, the Ballon d'Or winner had begun to rediscover his form during France's 3-0 victory over Iraq last Monday, when he capped the win with a cross-shot following a pass from Michael Olise.
With all eyes on him against Norway, he continued to shine by opening the scoring early in the 7th minute. Picking up a pass from Kylian Mbappé — who had rattled the crossbar with a rocket shot in the opening seconds — Dembélé gave Norwegian goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland no chance to get near his attempt.
The Paris European champion did not stop there, adding a second goal in the 20th minute with a superb curling effort, once again benefiting from a decisive pass from Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé. Dembélé celebrated the goal with a gesture of his hand, which appeared to be a response to the criticism he has faced since the tournament began.
The French forward continued his exceptional display by scoring his third goal in the 32nd minute following a pass from Aurélien Tchouaméni, completing his hat-trick in just half an hour. Dembélé celebrated the goal in the style of his Paris Saint-Germain teammate, Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
With this achievement, Dembélé joined the list of players to have scored a hat-trick at the 2026 World Cup, which so far includes Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who netted a treble against Algeria, and Canadian striker Jonathan David, who scored three against Qatar.